Alleged gunman in Sean Lien case fails polygraphs

Staff writer, with CNA

The man who has been found guilty of shooting the son of former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) on the eve of local elections in 2010 has lied throughout the legal proceedings following the incident, a lawyer said yesterday.

Liu Tsung-hsin (劉宗欣), the lawyer representing the victim, Sean Lien (連勝文), said during a Taiwan High Court hearing that Lin Cheng-wei (林正偉), who is appealing the verdict, failed to pass polygraph tests when asked two key questions — who his intended target was and where he got the gun.

“This demonstrates that Lin has been lying all along,” Liu said.

He urged Lin to tell the truth because the focus of his client is “seeking the truth and not on the jail term” to be handed down to his assailant.

However, Chen Chen-wei (陳振瑋), a lawyer representing Lin, said the results of the polygraph tests are “unreliable,” adding that Lin had limited sleep on the day the exams were conducted and that his client’s memory of the shooting is hazy because it took place nearly two years ago.

Lin fired a shot that went through Sean Lien’s cheek and killed an innocent bystander during a campaign rally for New Taipei Council candidate Chen Hung-yuan (陳鴻源) on Nov. 26, 2010, the night before mayoral and councilor elections were held in Taiwan’s five special municipalities.

The Banciao District Court in May sentenced Lin to 24 years in prison after finding him guilty of attempted murder and violation of the Act on Controling Guns, Ammunition and Knives (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例).

The court said in its ruling that Lin, who at the time was in dire financial straits, had tried to extort money from Chen’s father several times for unsettled disputes and wanted to threaten the candidate, but shot Sean Lien by mistake.

Sean Lien said at the time that many questions in the case remained unanswered, including Lin’s motive, possible accomplices and the source of the gun and bullets. He insists he was the real target because Lin called his name and swore at him before firing the shot.